Between December 16 and 20, the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM), carried out, in partnership with the Bethany agency and the Inter-religious Movement for Childhood, a series of activities for children, adolescents, youths and mothers who come from Venezuela, who attended the SuperCADE of the El Salitre bus station in Bogota, to access the services specifically offered to migrants. This work focused on the inner strengthening and resilience of the children, so that they can handle better the challenging situations they have been experiencing.
While parents wait to be helped by agencies such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Red Cross, the City Hall of Bogota, their children, in a safe and relaxed environment, participate in recreational activities and in art-therapy, such as story-telling, chess classes, free games, drawings and mandalas, collage with dry leaves, manual work, recreation with drawings in balloons, poems and games.
“Gratitude for the opportunity of being in this place, sharing, giving and receiving smiles from the children”, was the feeling expressed by María del Pilar, a Colombian Missionary from the city of Medellín.
Besides the activities, 83 Christmas kits were distributed, bringing joy to the little ones with story books, pencils, drawing notebooks and toys. Part of the material was acquired through donations of the Light-Network of Colombia.
“We see many mothers and fathers despondent for not obtaining travel tickets before Christmas, in this way, they discover they will have to stay longer in Colombia and many are living in difficult conditions, some in the street…”, explains Anderson, a Brazilian Missionary that also participates in the Mission in Bogota.
He also tells that the activities carried out in this place tend to harmonize the sometimes tense energy that emerges, due to the anxiety of parents trying to access the services offered, especially the help for obtaining the tickets needed for the trip back to Venezuela.
“The energy generated in the friendly atmosphere calms the situation: the laughter of children playing, the colors of their paintings, the magic of making soap bubbles.” Anderson concludes.
Colombia Mission is a humanitarian mission of a permanent nature that the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) has been carrying out since 2018 especially to help Venezuelan migrants.
Learn more, accompany and collaborate with the Colombia Mission
